committee for groundwater resources

July 15 – Haryana Government has constituted a committee comprising three cabinet ministers to finalize a bill to regulate andensure judicious use of groundwater in the State.This was stated here today by the Haryana Agriculture Minister Mr.Harmohinder Singh Chatha. He said that to keep a watch on decliningwater level in the State, the Ground Water Cell of the HaryanaAgriculture Department had established 2105 Grid observation points at20 square kilometres which were being monitored twice in a year i. eduring pre-monsoon and post monsoon. The Minister informed that under Accelerated Recharge of GroundwaterScheme, 257 rainwater harvesting structures had been constructed sofar with an expenditure of Rs. 151.81 lakh in the State as remedialmeasures to recharge groundwater through injection well technique.He said that these rainwater harvesting structures had beenconstructed in the Government buildings all over the State includedKrishi Bhawan, Panchkula, Judicial Complex, Gohana, SDM and AdditionalCivil Judge residence, Gohana, Public Health Complex and CivilHospital, Fatehabad, Mini-Secretariat building ,Jind, JDA Cottonoffice, Sirsa , HSEB Complex , Barara , Ambala and mainly Governmentschools located in the villages facing flooding problem during rainyseason, the same had improved with the implementation of this schemeviz-à-viz addition of water to groundwater.Mr. Chatha informed that a provision of Rs.75 lakh had been made forthe construction of rainwater harvesting structures under the schemeduring the current financial year. Mass awareness programme were beinglaunched through Pani Panchayat for conservation of water. TheDepartment would actively participate in the farmers meet organized indifferent districts to educate them for judicious use of ground water,he added.He said that the Agriculture Department was also implementing thewater conservation technologies under which sprinkler and dripirrigation system was made available to the farmers on subsidizedrates. The Department had launched a massive programme to stop thecropping of Sathi paddy which was water – guzzling crop and the areahad been reduced from 60,000 hectares to less than 500 hectares andthe farmers had been motivated to switch over to alternate crops likeSummer Moong and also resort to sowing of Dhaincha for green manuring,he added.